Houston Baptist to join Great West Conference

Houston Baptist makes move to Great West Conference

BRANDON WILLIAMS, Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, July 10, 2008

Houston Baptist formally announced Thursday it will become a member of the Great West Conference, which will expand from a football-only conference to a nine-member, all-sports conference set to begin play this fall.

"We are excited about our move to the Great West Conference," said HBU President Robert B. Sloan Jr. "The identity that comes with conference membership will impact our entire HBU community, including our faculty, staff, students, and alumni, and help build a stronger campus atmosphere. Our participation in the conference will also provide an array of exciting sporting events for the greater Houston community."

The Huskies will join Texas-Pan American, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah State in a conference that will include Cal-Poly, Cal-Davis and Southern Utah.

The conference began as a football-only league in 2004.

HBU, which joined the NCAA as an independent on a provisional basis last year, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in March, bidding to shorten its probational period from seven years to three. The case will be heard in Houston on November 10.

"The lawsuit does not effect the school joining the Great West," said Tom Thomas, a Dallas-based attorney that is co-council for HBU's case against the NCAA. "I feel confident that once our case is heard, we will win."

The Huskies will open Great West Conference play this fall. HBU will participate in men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field.

They will play a full conference schedule in men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and women's soccer in the 2009-10 season.

HBU's men's soccer team will play in the Atlantic Soccer Conference until the GWC adds the sport.

"Conference affiliation is key to a successful athletic program and will aid in scheduling, fundraising, branding, marketing, recruiting and will give HBU exposure in many areas of the country," said Huskies athletic director and men's basketball coach Ron Cottrell. "We are especially happy that our student-athletes will once again have the opportunity to play for championships and be recognized with post-season honors."

The additions of HBU and Texas-Pan American were a boost for the conference, allowing the schools to tap into the state's deep talent base.

"We're certainly pleased with being able to get into the Texas market," said Great West Commissioner Ed Grom. "Any coach in any sport will love to have this state as a place to recruit."